Thunder-76ers Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLDPosted Nov 24 2012 1:41AM

The Philadelphia 76ers continue to struggle early in games, and now they have to try and get a jump on the motivated Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder look to bounce back from their second loss in 10 games Saturday night when they visit the 76ers.

A showdown with the fast-starting defending Western Conference champs doesn't appear to be coming at a good time for Philadelphia.

While the 76ers (7-5) have trailed after one quarter in nine of their 12 games, Oklahoma City (9-4) has raced out to first-quarter leads in each of its last seven contests.

"It could get pretty ugly pretty fast (against the Thunder)," Philadelphia guard Jrue Holiday said. "We can't look at it like, if it's not one of the best teams, we know we can come back on them. We have to start out games like we're playing the best team."

Oklahoma City jumped out to a 28-21 first-quarter lead on Friday night, but couldn't sustain it in a 108-100 loss at Boston that snapped the team's three-game winning streak.

Kevin Durant, second in the NBA in scoring (25.4), stayed hot with a game-high 29 points. The league's reigning scoring champ is averaging 30.0 points over his last five games.

Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double. He's had at least two blocks in every game, averaging a league-best 3.4.

Russell Westbrook, who had 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds on Friday, will look to continue his success against the 76ers. The All-Star has averaged 26.7 points and 9.3 assists in the last three meetings, though he's had exactly seven turnovers each time.

Still, Oklahoma City has won six straight against Philadelphia. Durant has certainly done his part, averaging 29.4 points in the five during that stretch he's played in.

"We've always been a good bounce-back team," coach Scott Brooks told the team's official website. "There's no reason for us to stop doing that."

The 76ers are focused on getting things going earlier after another slow start Wednesday night. They fell behind 28-15 after 12 minutes in a 92-83 loss at Cleveland that halted their three-game winning streak.

Coach Doug Collins has hinted at possible changes to the lineup recently, and he didn't back off after his team's poor first half against the Cavaliers.

"If we dig ourselves a hole, our rotations change, you start going to the bench sooner and then you end up chasing the game," Collins said. "It's like oversleeping by 30 minutes."

The 76ers couldn't dig out of their hole against Cleveland despite 16 points each from Holiday and Jason Richardson. They had five players in double figures, but shot just 36.0 percent from the field and 4 of 17 from beyond the arc.

Philadelphia ranks near the bottom of the league in scoring (89.8) and field-goal percentage (41.1).

Holiday, though, is having a breakout season with a team-best 18.4 points per game while ranking among the NBA leaders with 8.6 assists.

He's averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 assists in his last three games against the Thunder while shooting 53.8 percent.

The 76ers will try to bounce back with three consecutive games at the Wells Fargo Center, where they've won three in a row.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Durant, Westbrook lead Thunder over 76ers

By ROB MAADDIPosted Nov 24 2012 11:11PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) No matter how many shots the Oklahoma City Thunder missed, they remained confident about the next one.

Serge Ibaka added 18 points for the defending Western Conference champions, who've won nine of 11 to go to 10-4.

The Thunder missed their last seven shots in regulation, but got 3-pointers from four different players in OT.

"We weren't making shots at the end, but I like the fact guys continued to stick with each other and trust each other," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Trust isn't a word we throw around loosely. You're not always going to make shots, but if a guy is open, you have to trust he'll make the next one."

Thad Young had a season-high 29 points and career-high 15 rebounds, and Evan Turner scored 26 points for Philadelphia, which has lost two in a row after winning three straight.

Trailing most of the game, the Sixers tied it at 94 on a dunk by Young off an underneath pass by Turner with 5:01 left.

The Thunder regained the lead on Westbrook's driving layup and Durant's 10-footer made it 98-94. A pair of free throws by Lavoy Allen cut it to 98-96. The teams combined for eight misses and three turnovers until Young's layup tied it at 98 with 1:36 to go.

Each team missed its next two shots and Turner deflected away an inbound pass with 3 seconds left to send it to overtime.

That's when the Thunder found their shooting touch from beyond the arc.

"We trust each other. We live and die with those shots. Make the right play and they came up big for us," Durant said. "It's part of the game. You've got to have trust if you want to be a good team. It doesn't matter what. These guys are in the NBA for a reason. They can play. I trust them 100 percent to go make that shot. I think it's going in every time."

Durant scored Oklahoma City's first five points on two free throws and a 3-pointer. Kevin Martin nailed a 3 to extend the lead to 106-100. Westbrook's 3 made it 109-102. Thabo Sefolosha then sent the fans scattering for the exits with another 3 for a 112-104 lead with under a minute left.

"I left my offense in Oklahoma City," said Martin, who was 3 for 16 against Boston and Philadelphia in consecutive games. "We all know what people are doing night in and night out. That's when the trust comes."

The Sixers learned before the game that All-Star center Andrew Bynum is now out indefinitely. General manager Tony DiLeo said Bynum has "bilateral bone bruises and a weakened cartilage state" in his knees. Bynum's target date for returning to basketball activities has been pushed back four times, so the team has to move on without him at least for the immediate future.

"We got the ball out of Kevin Durant's hands a couple of times at the end of (regulation), Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "We had a couple of shots to win the game and ours didn't go. We had some guys play great, great games, fought, competed, played great. Evan, Thad were terrific. Jrue (Holiday) I thought was very aggressive in the first half."

The Thunder led nearly the entire first half, going ahead by 10 on a few occasions. But after Ibaka hit a long jumper to make it 42-32, the Sixers outscored Oklahoma City 17-8 to get within a point at halftime. Jason Richardson started the run with a 3-pointer and made two more during the stretch.

Durant threw down a thunderous dunk to give Oklahoma City an 85-79 lead after three quarters.

Holiday had 10 of his 13 assists in the first half for Philadelphia.

"They made big shots down the stretch in overtime," Young said "When you give guys looks, a lot of open looks, they eventually start lining the ball up and knocking down shots and that's what they did."

Notes: Richardson left with a sprained ankle. ... The Thunder are 19-3 after a loss since the start of last season, including 4-0 this year. ... Julius "Dr. J" Erving presented the ball for the opening tip-off. Erving led the Sixers to their last NBA title in 1983. ... Holiday's 10 assists were a first-half record at the Wells Fargo Center, which opened in 1996. ... The Thunder are 5-0 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... None of Philadelphia's games has been decided by fewer than six points.

---

Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobMaaddi

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Thunder 116, 76ers 109 (OT)

THE FACTS: Kevin Durant scored a season-high 37 points, Russell Westbrook dropped in 30 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 116-109 in overtime Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. Serge Ibaka added 18 points and Nick Collison had 14 for the Thunder, who improved to 10-4.

Thaddeus Young led the Sixers with 29 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Evan Turner scored 26 points and Jason Richardson had 13. The Sixers lost their second consecutive game and fell to 7-6.

QUOTABLE: "I like the fact that we continued to trust each other."

-- Thunder coach Scott Brookson an 18-point outburst in overtime after missing their final seven shots in regulation.

THE STAT: Ibaka had nine rebounds, eight on the offensive glass.

TURNING POINT: The Thunder took over in overtime thanks to their deft 3-point shooting. Four different players hit a trey in overtime -- Durant, Westbrook, Kevin Martin and Thabo Sefolosha.

HOT: Collison was 5-for-6 from the field while Ibaka knocked down 8-for-12. For the Sixers, Turner was stellar offensively, going 10-for-17.

NOT:Jrue Holiday missed eight of his 11 shots, including all three from beyond the arc.

QUOTABLE II: "Nobody in the league plays perfect games, but we'd like to be more consistent."

-- Thunder's Nick Collison

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Durant had 37 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots. He was 15-for-17 from the free-throw line. Just another All-Star caliber night for the young standout.

INSIDE THE ARENA: There was quite a lively atmosphere inside the arena for the Thunder, who advanced to the NBA Finals last season. Aside from the Thunder being a strong draw, the crowd of 19,611 erupted with a standing ovation when former Sixers star Julius Erving presented the game ball. Erving is currently working as a strategic advisor for the Sixers. Boxer Bernard Hopkins also attended the game and received a nice ovation.

QUOTABLE III: "We got shots we wanted. We didn't convert them."

-- Sixers' Jrue Holiday

GOOD MOVE: Despite struggling with their shooting, the Thunder kept running their offense in overtime. That means passing the ball around the perimeter and taking good shots. It worked with four huge 3-pointers and 18 points overall.

BAD MOVE: The Sixers rushed their offense in overtime. They took several ill-advised shots early in the shot clock and it led to points on the other end for the Thunder.

ROOKIE WATCH: Oklahoma City guard Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones didn't play. For the Sixers, guard Maalik Wayns played 6:23 and missed his only shot while forward Arnett Moultrie was a DNP-CD.

NOTABLE: The Sixers announced that injured center Andrew Bynum will be out indefinitely. Bynum has bone bruises on both knees along with weakened cartilage in both knees. "The bottom line here is Andrew is out indefinitely," general manager Tony DiLeo said. "We don't know when Andrew will be back. Only Andrew can answer that question." ... Richardson sprained his left ankle and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Suns. ... Holiday had 13 assists, including a floor-record tying 10 in the first half. ... Durant had just eight points in the first half but wound up with 37. He has scored 30 or more points in four of his eight career games against the Sixers. ... The Thunder have scored 110 or more points in four of the last five games. ... Young recorded his second straight double-double after posting only one all of last season. ... Oklahoma City committed 12 turnovers and it entered the game averaging 17. ... It was the second overtime win in the last three games for the Thunder.